Five Questions with McDonald’s Global Brand Officer Kevin Newell

In one month, the London Olympics will be underway, and once again, McDonald’s is a major sponsor for the games. The world’s largest chain by sales has been the official restaurant sponsor of the Olympics since 1996 and has renewed that sponsorship through the 2020 Olympics.

At the Olympic village this year, McDonald’s will have its largest restaurant location ever. The chain will also be running advertising by DDB. In one spot, LeBron James and Luol Deng go one-on-one for fries and a Big Mac. In another, kids compete against each other for various McDonald’s products.

The kids in that DDB ad hint at one of the chain’s major initiatives: children’s exercise, nutrition and well-being. For the Olympics, McDonald’s is tying its efforts to a global kids’ exercise initiative called Champions of Play. As part of the program, which will be executed at the global, regional and local levels, kids will be encouraged to engage in physical activity. Fliers in millions of Happy Meals will prompt them to earn activity points through various forms of exercise and then track the points online.

At the front of the Olympics branding is Kevin Newell, who became the chain’s global brand officer in early 2011. Prior to that, he served as U.S. senior and restaurant support officer for the U.S. West division. Ad Age caught up with Mr. Newell, who was also an Olympic trials runner in the 200-meter race in 1980, to talk about the Olympics messaging and how it ties to McDonald’s overall brand strategy. (www.adage.com)

The Reason Behind Vanguard’s Penny-Pinching Ways

Michael Ma, head of retail advertising and prospect marketing, says pinching pennies is simply part of the culture at Vanguard. And in an environment where copy machines feature signage requesting that users pay 5 cents for personal copies, one can only imagine how carefully Mr. Ma’s marketing budget is watched. But Mr. Ma relishes the challenge, telling Ad Age he has to make his case for advertising funds to everyone from the board to employees to shareholders like his grandfather.

Mr. Ma will further discuss how he makes the case for marketing investment and how he quantifies the return on that investment at Ad Age’s upcoming CMO Strategy Summit in Chicago. Here, a preview of what he has to say.

Ad Age: Why is it critical that you demonstrate a return on your marketing investments?

Mr. Ma: We have to show advertising lowers, not increases, expenses for our current shareholders. From the investment strategies we employ to the copier paper we use, one question asked in every decision at Vanguard is ‘What is the value to the shareholder?’ Advertising is no different, and that makes us a bit unique.

Ad Age: What is the primary goal of your marketing?

Mr. Ma: Our advertising is primarily aimed at gaining new prospective households to join the Vanguard family. For our current investors, we have some of the industry’s highest Net Promoter Scores that range in the 70s, rivaling Apple, Harley-Davidson and other revered brands. However, we still lag our competitors when you look at broader awareness figures. If we can cross that bridge, we know we can lower the costs and complexity of investing for both our new prospects and our existing clients as well.

Ad Age: What media best accomplishes that goal?

Mr. Ma: The best media buy we made is not actually media at all — it has been investing in a world-class measurement infrastructure. Because we are outspent by our competitors by several multiples and our promise to our shareholders, we have to make every dollar count. So we have developed a robust combination of fractional attribution and agent-based media mix models to lay a blueprint for what works against our business goals. We have invested heavily in search and display because of its ability to test these models, and are confident of our results. (www.adage.com)

Networks Could Pay Close to $500M a Year for College Football Playoff

College football is looking at a massive money grab in TV rights fees and marketing opportunities when it moves to a playoff, beginning with the 2014 season.

How much? Well, put it this way. ESPN picked up the rights to the Bowl Championship Series national championship game starting in 2011 with a four-year, $500 million deal.

That half-a-billion just might be a yearly starting point when negotiations begin for the new playoff.

Robert Boland, academic chair and clinical associate professor of sports management at New York University, said a college football playoff could generate $5 billion over a 12-year contract. Forbes magazine estimated in the $3 billion range for the same time period. An executive who specializes in TV-rights-fees negotiations and asked not to be identified told AdAge.com, “I’d say in between sounds right at around $4 billion for the package, but, yeah, sure, it could go higher.”

“You have to wonder where the tipping point for rights fees that these networks pay is, and when it’s going to get to the point where they can’t afford it,” said Larry Mann, exec VP-partner at the Chicago-based sports marketing firm Revolution. “But from what I’m hearing the [college football] commissioners think they can generate $500 million to $600 million annually.” (www.adage.com)

NBC’s $1 Billion Olympics Sellout

With exactly one month to go before the Opening Ceremonies of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, NBC is on track to book nearly $1 billion in ad sales revenue for the 17-day event.

Speaking Wednesday morning from 30 Rock’s fabled Studio 8H, Seth Winter, NBC Sports Group evp of sales and sales marketing, said he was “very pleased” with how the ad dollars were stacking up, given that NBC is expected to generate as much as $950 million in Olympics sales, or around $100 million more than it did in 2008.

Winter added that NBC was, for all intents and purposes, sold out of its available inventory, although he noted that the network always holds back some contingency time. Meanwhile, talks with sponsors of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are in “early innings.”

Winter told Adweek that NBC has lined up dozens of new sponsors for the London Games, a roster of clients that includes Chobani Greek yogurt (an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team) and Fruit of the Loom. “One of the great things about selling the Olympics is, the audience is almost evenly split between male and female viewers,” Winter said. “So we have a much broader definition of what our endemic categories are.” (www.adweek.com)

Web.com Signs 10-Year Deal To Become Umbrella Sponsor Of Renamed Web.com Tour

The PGA TOUR and Web.com, the leading provider of internet services and online marketing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), today announced a 10-year agreement whereby the company becomes the umbrella sponsor of the newly named Web.com Tour.

Formerly known as the Nationwide Tour, the Web.com Tour will continue to identify and transition players who are ready to compete and win on the PGA TOUR. It currently awards PGA TOUR membership to the 25 leading money winners at the end of the season. Beginning in 2013, however, the importance of the Web.com Tour will further increase when the new qualifying structure for the PGA TOUR expands that number to 50.

The Web.com umbrella sponsorship takes effect immediately with this week’s United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club near Evansville, Ind., and extends through 2021. In addition to the umbrella sponsorship, Web.com will also become an Official Marketing Partner of the PGA TOUR, Web.com Tour and Champions Tour.

The announcements were made jointly by PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem; David L. Brown, Web.com’s Chairman, President and CEO; and Bill Calfee, President of the Web.com Tour. (www.sponsorship.com)

Seybert’s Billiard Supply To sponsor 1st Annual Southern Classic Tournament

Seybert’s Billiard Supply announces that they are teaming up with Diamond Billiard Products, Diamond Promotions LLC, and Kamui Tips to sponsor the first annual Southern Classic Tournament to be held July 20-28 2012 in Tunica, Mississippi at the Harrah’s Tunica Hotel and Casino. The Harrah’s Tunica Hotel and Casino is the largest Casino Resort between Las Vegas and Atlantic City allowing for plenty of room and plenty of excitement in and out of tournaments with three extravagant towers, in-door and out-door pools, five star restaurants, and luxurious accommodations at a discounted price. The Southern Classic Tournament will be formatted much like the Derby City Classic giving it the right kind of potential to be a big hit among competitors. The BCA Pool league, NAPA, TAP Members, and APA Memphis are scheduled to hold events that will be available to any member from any state. Competition and fun is still to be had for non-members with open tournaments at The Mid-South Convention Center attached to The Host Hotel and the Veranda Tower, accessible by a shuttle and within short walking distance. Thanks to Kamui Tips and Viking Cues a live feed can be viewed online making this one of the most visible events in the series. (www.sponsorship.com)

For Kleenex, a Song and Dance to Sneeze To

ADVERTISING for Kleenex, the brand that invented the facial tissue category 88 years ago, has had little need to provide tips on how to use the product.

But in an advertising and marketing campaign directed at mothers and children, Kleenex is promoting a tissue routine to help prevent colds from spreading.

A new commercial features a classroom full of children doing a choreographed dance and a song, “Shield Sneeze Swish.” The message: when children feel a sneeze coming on, they should cover their noses, and then, after sneezing, dispose of the tissue — swish — in a wastebasket.

“This back to school, there’s a new routine,” sing the students, who are about 8 to 13 years old, in the commercial. “Grab a Kleenex tissue to help keep your hands clean, every time you sneeze no matter where. Ya gotta shield, sneeze, swish like you just don’t care.” (www.nytimes.com)

Evian renews with Wimbledon and Sharapova

Evian has renewed its sponsorship of Wimbledon for another five years and has retained the services of Maria Sharapova as a brand ambassador.

The Danone-owned brand will continue as the official bottled water of the oldest Grand Slam event in tennis until 2017 after renewing its agreement with its hosts, the All England Club, until 2017. It will continue to supply water to players and run activities for fans while holding on to its branding rights.

Women’s world number one and French Open champion Sharapova, who won Wimbledon in 2004 and reached the final last year, has extended her personal endorsement deal for another three years.

All England Club commercial director Mick Desmond said: “Evian has ably demonstrated its enthusiasm and support for The Championships and we are delighted to be extending our agreement. The brand’s innovation and ability to embrace the ethos of Wimbledon, while adding its own twist, has led to a highly successful partnership and it is one which we are looking forward to developing over the next five years.” (www.sportspromedia.com)

New deal sees Amazon enter the action sports marketplace

According to the Boston Herald, online retail giant Amazon has announced that eight-time world skateboard champion Andy Macdonald will become the company’s first sponsored athlete.

Under terms of the personal endorsement agreement, which coincides with the launch of Amazon’s new online action sports store, 38-year-old Macdonald will feature in a range of video content that will be hosted on the site and act as an action sports consultant for the brand.

Additionally, Macdonald, who holds the record for most ever X Games medals, will sport the Amazon logo on his helmet and board during all competition.

Financial terms of the agreement were not released. (www.sportspromedia.com)

Hit The Road, Jack! Toyota On Tour

Summer is here — and that means automakers are loading their cars, trucks and big tops into 18-wheelers and hitting the road with experiential tours intended to get vehicles in front of people. Kia is hooking up with Vans Warped Tour and Chrysler is taking vehicles to employees; Nissan is on the road; and Toyota is going on the road with this year’s version of the “Creation Station.”

The program launched last year to support the Prius v, but it’s bigger this year as it visits more markets and comprises a bigger selection of the automaker’s family-oriented vehicles. The Prius v extended the hybrid brand into the crossover segment, so it too was Toyota’s first family vehicle under the Prius moniker. This year’s tour will also include the Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, RAV4 EV, 2013 Avalon sedan, Landcruiser, Prius Plug-in, Prius c, Sienna and Yaris.

The tour starts over the July 4th holiday, and rolls through the fourth quarter visiting fairs, culinary events, and arts festivals nationwide. Beginning at “Fair Saint Louis,” it also goes to events like Taste of Dallas, the Eat Real Festival in Oakland, Calif., the Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the Jazz Aspen festival at Snowmass.

The exhibition, via Los Angeles-based Filter Creative Group, has such elements as the Toyota Cargo Challenge, which demonstrates the load capacity of the Prius v. The challenge gets teams of up to four people to compete to see who can load the Prius v cargo space fastest for a chance at prizes. The program also has arts and crafts, 3D photo opportunities for families, and a giant dice game that emulates the Prius advertising. (www.mediapost.com)

General Mills Intensifies U.S. Yogurt Push

Late to the Greek yogurt phenomenon that’s stealing share from its cash-cow Yoplait brand, General Mills plans to launch 40 new yogurt products in the first half of its new fiscal year, which started May 29.

Some of the launches will start shipping next month, including 100-calorie Yoplait Greek yogurt cups (endorsed by Weight Watchers), and Yoplait Fruplait, which claims to have twice as much fruit mixed as the leading brand.

Yogurt accounted for 15% of General Mills’ $10.2 billion U.S. retail division in 2011. In its financials report on June 27, the company confirmed that it will be employing a full-press U.S. marketing effort (including TV and other ads, coupons and promotions to generate trials of its new and existing yogurt products) during its current fiscal, although its global marketing budget as a percentage of sales will be about stable with fiscal 2012. (The company spent $914 million worldwide on media in fiscal 2012.)

Starting in July, General Mills will also take over U.S. sales of Liberté Mediterranée, a rich, creamy yogurt popular in Canada that currently has about $14 million in sales in the U.S. Liberté is owned by Yoplait SAS, in which General Mills bought a 51% stake last year. General Mills will sell the brand, including its Greek version, under a licensing deal. (www.mediapost.com)